Improvement in plastic roofing-compounds



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Letters Patent No. 98,911, dated January 18, 1870.

IMPROVEMENT IN PLASTIC ROOFING-COMPOUNDS The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the name I, RUSSELL O. B'nn'ron, of the city of Buffalo, in the county of Erie, and State of New York, have invented a certain Improvement in Plastic Roofing, and Compounds therefor, of which the following is a specification. I t

The kind of roofing to which my improvements relate, consists, generally, of a. compound of coat-tar, and one or more other substances, such as clay, fine sand, pulverized rock, &c., applied in a melted state to a felt fabric, the surface of which is then covered with a coating of dry sand.

This application of the compound and the sand,

until recently, has been made by hand, a hopper and other apparatus being now used for the purpose.

The material thus prepared in strips, is then applied to the roof of the building.

In order that the nature and importance of my invention may be clearly appreciated, I will first state the qualities requiredin a good roofing of this kind, and the difiiculties attending the manufacture and application of the same.

The roofing should be firm and hard, without being brittle, so as not to crack under extremes of hot and cold weather.

When melted, it should possess 'sutficient fluidity to enable it to properly flow and be distributed over the surface of the felt, by the machines in use for that purpose, as the old and laborious process by hand required the compound to be of greater consistency. This soft consistency is also necessary to enable it to receive, and permit the sand coating, as it is applied, to imbed itself therein.

When applied to the roof, it must possess a certain amount of stiffness, to keep it in place on the felt, a common defect in plastic roofing being a tendency of the compound, on account of its gravity, to settle and slide down the roof, so as to leave the felt near the top or ridge of the roof comparatively uncovered- It must not be so hard but that it can be rolled and unrolled, in handling and applying to the roof, without cracking. It should be pliable, without being rotten.

After it has been applied to a roof, it should rapidly harden to the required extent.

It will now be readily perceived that the great difficulty in compounding and tempering this plastic material, which is required to possess these opposite qualities, is to exactly hit the proper mean, a slight variation either way rendering the roofing'defective, if not worthless.

It is of the greatest importance that the sand coating, which is lastly applied, should be as much imbedded in the composition as possible, as it is this dry coating that prevents the prepared strips from sticking together when rolled up, and the composition from adhering to the feet in applying it to the roof.

The great value of this sand coating, however, is

the stiffening quality it imparts to the roofing, to prevent the sliding of the composition, and the protection itaffiirds to the action of the weather.

The desideratum to accomplish is, the production of a. compound that will be of a soft consistency while being spread upon the felt, and which will rapidly harden, without becoming brittle, after it is applied to a. root; This requires the most careful preparation of the coal-tar or other cement employed to bind the sand and other ingredients, which form the body of the compound, together. The use of coal-tar alone produces a compound that can be properly applied to the felt, but which is rotten, and diflicult to lay and have it adhere to a roof, on account of the amount of dead oil it contains. I

My invention consists- First, of a plastic compound for roofing-purposes, composed of coal-tar, naphtha, sand, and clay, when prepared in the following manner, viz: First, distil, from ordinary coal-tar, about seventeen per cent. of the quantity, (a greater or lesser quantity being distilled when the tar possesses greater or lesser volatility,) then add, forevery barrel (forty gallons) of the tar that has been used, five bushels of ground and sifted clay, five and one-half bushels of fine hard sand, well sifted, (the sharper the grit the better,) and from one to four gallons of naphtha, according to the temperature of the weather, more being required in cold than in warm weather, two gallons being the amount I usually employ. The compound is now heated, and applied to the felt, and sanded by machinery, as before described, a machine having been patented by me for the purpose, October 19, 1868. This roofing is designed for the outer covering of the roof.

Second, for a first layer or substratum of the roofing, the invention consists of a compound of coal-tar, from which about twelve per cent. is distilled, more or less, according to the density ofthe tar, to which is then added powdered rosin, to the amount of the distillate, and one barrel of finely ground and sifted clay for every barrel of the tar and rosin compound. The mizture is heated and-applied to felt by a machine patented by me October 19, 1869, for the purpose, or by other suitable apparatus.

Third, of a plastic roof, when composed of the two roofing-compounds above described, the first of said compounds forming the outer layer or covering.

The first layer, or that composed of partially-distilled tar, rosin, and clay, being protected from the weather by the outer layer, is absolutely impervious to water, while the latter forms a perfectcovering, which renders a roof thus constructed of a most enduring character, lasting as long as the building which it shelters.

By partially distilling the coal-tar, in forming my compounds, and especially in forming that designed for the outer layer, removes the superfluous amount of dead oil which it contains, and serves to render the prepared roofing rotten, andliable to tear while handling and applying it, and the compound too soft and yielding after it has been applied to the roof. The addition of the naphtha, owing to its volatility, admirably serves to soften and thin the composition while it is being applied to the felt and receiving the sand coating, and, by afterwards rapidly evaporating, soon reduces the prepared roofing to the proper consistency for applying it to the roof.

The peculiar tenacityof my improved compound is such as to enable a much thicker coating to be applied to the felt, and have it still adhere, than can be of the ordinary compounds in use. a

The proportions I have hereinhefore given of the various ingredients are those I prefer to use, although they maybe somewhat varied, without, perhaps, materially affecting the result.

I am'aware that partially-distilled coal-tar has before been used in the preparation of plastic roofing, and also crude coal-tar and naphtha combined. These, nor the use of sand and clay separately, I do not claim. Neither do I claim, broadly, a plastic roof, composed of two coats 0r layers; but

What I do claim as my invention, is-

1. A plastic composition for roofing purposes, consisting of partially-distilled coal-tar, naphtha, sand, and clay, compounded substantially as and in the propertions hereinbefore set forth.

2. The composition of matter, consisting of partiallydistilled coal-tar, rosin, and clay, in the proportions, and applied to the felt fabric, substantially as hereinbefore described.

3. A plastic roof, when composed of the two compounds prepared and applied as hereinbefore set forth. Witnesses: R. O. BENTON.

J AY HYATT, Jno. J. BONNER. 

